NATO's Largest Artillery Exercise in Europe Kicks Off in Finland
On 4 November, the largest NATO artillery exercise in Europe - Lightning Strike 24 - began in Finland, Yle reports.
Lightning Strike 24 is part of the Dynamic Front 25 series of exercises taking place in five European countries - Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland.
The artillery exercises will take place in the Rovajärvi and Rovaniemi districts of Finnish Lapland and will last until 28 November.
Approximately 3,600 military personnel will take part, including about 1,250 soldiers from international forces.
The exercise aims to demonstrate the Alliance's defence capabilities in the Northern Europe region, as well as to practice operational command, control and cooperation with NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
‘The scale of the exercise shows that we can get support from Allies very quickly, as well as from Allied Command, if necessary. This is a good example of how our own field artillery, combined with Allied forces and capabilities, forms a strong defence in northern Finland and NATO,’ said Colonel Janne Mäkitalo, exercise commander.
In total, about 5,000 troops from 28 different countries will take part in NATO's Dynamic Front 25 exercise.
As a reminder, the first full-scale NATO brigade exercise started in Latvia on 1 November.
On 14 October, the North Atlantic Alliance launched the annual Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise.